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Two additional earthquakes have struck the Emilia Romagna region of Italy with heavy losses in the Parmesan cheese industry and 16 deaths have been reported. Hundreds were injured when the 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook northern Italy on Tuesday, forced thousands of people from their homes, and came nine days after the 6.0 magnitude quake killed seven.

Among the ongoing rescue and recovery workers are radio amateurs from the Raggruppamento Nazionale Radiocomunicazioni Emergenza, and RNRE, using both HF and VHF. Tuesday's quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks with one recorded at 5.6 magnitude in the industrial and densely populated area. Some historical buildings including churches have been further damaged by the latest shakes, particularly in the San Felice sul Panaro and Mirandola districts.

IARU Region 1 Emergency Coordinator Greg Mossop G0DUB reports that RNRE have a mobile unit with five radio amateurs in the area and two more units are ready to go when requested. This follows a request from the Italian Civil Protection Department. The HF frequency 7060kHz is in use by IQ1HQ at the RNRE Headquarters and IQ0TK from the Civil Protection Department in Rome. VHF links are on 145.200MHz.

Please keep the frequency of 7060kHz clear. RNRE can also be found in Google English via the following Link